MA CCRR Service Policies and Procedures Mills Consulting Group, Inc.

Research Completed Review of MA CCRR studies Conversations with EEC staff Conversations with MA CCRRs Conversations with MA CFCEs, Mass211, etc. Conversations with other state CCRR networks/agencies Review of other state CCRR procedures documents Attended NACCRRA Symposium

Introduction Over the past 40 years Massachusetts has supported Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (CCRRs) and the work they have accomplished on behalf of families and providers throughout the Commonwealth. EEC’s mission is to provide the foundation that supports all children in their development as lifelong learners and contributing members of the community, and support families in their essential work as parents and caregivers. As we look ahead, CCRRs play an important role in supporting EEC’s mission. To this end, CCRRs’ guiding principle will be to strengthen families through the services they provide. CCRRs are dedicated to enhancing the quality, affordability and availability of care for Massachusetts’ families. In addition, CCRRs engage in a broad range of activities including collaborating with, informing and educating their many partners and constituents. CCRRs serve as the link to the state level and community level for those they serve. CCRRs serve a wide spectrum of families across the state. CCRRs have a strong commitment to serving those who are most vulnerable: families that qualify for subsidies, are newcomers, are in transition, speak languages other than English, have children with special needs, and others. In their quest to best serve families, CCRRs have strong relationships with child and family serving agencies, in particular a strong partnership with CFCEs. CCRRs develop and support a varied provider workforce, and their support for the workforce is strengthened by their work with EPS grantees. Promoting quality care is a key component of a CCRR’s work; the Massachusetts Quality Rating Improvement System Standards are the base that CCRRs use when working with families, providers and other constituents.

CCRR Operations Criteria EEC will contract with strong CCRR agencies that meet industry standards and have qualified staff, engage in strategic planning, are fiscally sound, coordinate with other agencies that serve families and providers and have systems in place that support their technological needs. CCRRS will have: NACCRRA Quality Assurance Sound understanding of EEC licensing regulations and EEC initiatives Professional staff with bachelor’s in field appropriate to their position (ECE or related field), and direct experience in the early education and care field Trained staff use NACCRRAware to input provider data, family data, and generate reports Technical capacity and IT support to carry out agency functions and provide online services Written policies and procedures to include operations, orientation and personnel Sound financial policies and procedures in place Staff that reflect the diversity and linguistic needs of the families and providers in the cities and towns they serve Professional development for staff to include orientation & ongoing training Staff that are supervised and evaluated on a regular basis Partnerships with CFCE, EPS grantees, Mass211 and convene regional meetings with these agencies Capacity to produce data reports for EEC and other constituents Plan for gathering feedback from various constituencies regarding the delivery of services Board of Directors or Advisory Committee that reflects cities and towns served Involvement in the early education and out of school time care field through membership in local, state and national organizations and associations

Family Engagement Objective: Families have access to high quality information, resources and referrals that meet their specific needs and are educated regarding cost, quality and availability of early education and out of school time care. CCRR will use the Strengthening Families framework, which provides a concrete frame to support families, increase knowledge of growth and development, increase knowledge of social and emotional development, resilience and social networks.

Family Engagement Policies CCRR is knowledgeable regarding the early education and out of school time care needs of families in their cities & towns by conducting community needs assessment, reviewing census data, connecting with community stakeholders such as newcomer leaders, public schools, early intervention, and CFCEs CCRR has a depth of understanding of their cities and towns through knowing the diversity, changes, informal spaces (libraries, museums), school policies, public officials & community leaders All families have access to accurate, meaningful consumer information, education and referrals that meet their specific needs and assist them in quality care decision making process online, phone calls, in person, , mail, fax and new smart phone application All families will receive information and referrals in a timely manner that meets high quality customer service benchmarks, and is sensitive to the families in their cities and towns including cultural, socio-economic, language and other factors. Families will be provided a minimum of 3 and maximum of 15 referrals within one business day All families are educated on a range of topics including licensing regulations and the definition of high quality environments, to include but not limited to information on types of care, exemptions in licensing, staff child ratios, group size, provider education, health & safety, accreditation, QRIS areas, and step by step action plan for search CCRR will educate and provide referral services to families using vouchers, communicating by phone, in person, by fax, , or visits at DTA office, explain voucher process, speak with providers on behalf of families, and check in within a week to see how search is going

Family Engagement Policies Enhanced Referral services are provided to families that are hard-to-serve/high risk and/or have specific care needs (special needs, transitional families, speak English as a second language) by trained Specialists who have core knowledge of child development. Specialist obtains consent to speak with providers on families behalf, offers in person appointments and non traditional office hours, helps families make step by step action plan and conducts check in/follow up call within one week Coordination between CCRR and Mass211 takes place, by CCRR taking calls passed from Mass211 for families in need of Enhance Referrals. CCRR contacts Mass211 at least 3 times a year to discuss services and coordination Families are informed about the range of care costs in their cities and towns and financial assistance/tax credits available on website and during phone calls All families are educated on the concepts of high quality care as specified in QRIS, through link to EEC information on website, during referral calls, and by encouraging parents to ask providers about their level of quality Collaboration and coordination between CCRRs and CFCEs takes place through creation of a partnership plan, meetings once a year, and CCRR conducting a minimum of 2 follow up phone calls to CFCEs per year

Family Engagement Policies Families are made aware of and linked to other agencies and organizations that provide services and information regarding young children, such as but not limited to: CFCEs, libraries, museums, EEC, public schools, public health, WIC, early intervention CCRR provides high quality information on child development including use of ASQ developmental screening, which is discussed with families on vouchers and other families who might benefit from it. CCRR directs families to the CFCEs, tracks calls referred to CFCEs and helps families to complete ASQ if needed Family services will be outcomes driven and informed by results of family satisfaction survey conducted via mail, phone and/or online to families 3 weeks after services are provided. Data results will be reviewed monthly and test calls will be completed CCRR serves as an educator for high quality early education and out of school time care through engaging in activities to raise awareness such as promoting initiatives like Brain Building in Progress among others

Provider Development & Engagement Objective: Services for providers are intentional, coordinated, measureable, aligned with QRIS, and ensure provider access to training and technical assistance that links to EEC licensing requirements and standards.

Provider Development & Engagement Recruitment of new providers and new care slots takes place based on the needs of the community, and is informed by supply and demand data analysis activity and census data. Regular scheduled calls are made to existing providers regarding increasing capacity, recruitment information is posted and presentations are made to local business groups NACCRRAware is used to maintain information on licensed providers in CCRR’s cities and towns, all providers are contacted/included in database, all data fields are completed, provider closures are tracked and reported to EEC, and exit interviews with providers who leave are conducted and documented Provider voucher agreements are executed, reviewed and monitored. New providers are recruited to take voucher families and oriented to system, and training and TA is provided to all providers in the voucher system. CCRR will follow EEC Voucher Provider Monitoring Process to include risk assessments of all providers taking vouchers within 2 years time, complete provider renewals, and complete reviews of providers with cited complaints The training and technical assistance needs of the providers in CCRR cities and towns are assessed as they relate to EEC licensing, health and safety, and voucher utilization, through conducting and analyzing annual provider needs assessment Collaboration and coordination between CCRR and EPS grantees takes place through individual meetings with EPS grantees, creating partnership plan on provider service coordination, sharing provider data, and follow up calls to EPS grantees to review and adjust plan Providers are informed of EPS grantee professional development and training opportunities by posting EPS trainings on CCRR website, promoting EPS courses during provider training and TA

Provider Development & Engagement High quality trainings on various topic areas are provided which focus mainly on EEC licensing requirements. Trainings are delivered in person or via webinar; are offered at convenient times and locations and in multiple languages as needed; a training calendar is issued annually which is linked to EEC’s calendar and made available via CCRR website, mailings, and postings at provider conferences; training evaluation surveys are conducted Quality technical assistance is provided to providers in person, via phone, and online, to include start up orientation for new providers, licensing regulations/deficiencies in coordination with EEC’s Licensor, and other topics such as but not limited to: facilities/space, serving at-risk families, inclusion settings and funding opportunities A tracking system for training and technical assistance given to providers is in place; data is analyzed to report results such as numbers served, provider type, provider location, trainings offered, etc. Providers are educated on QRIS system and how to access trainings that help them achieve their QRIS level goal during phone calls when CCRR updates database, through linkages to EPS grantees for QRIS training, when promoting QRIS during start up orientation, and through recognition of providers with high QRIS levels Linkages for providers are made to other agencies that have information pertaining to young children and family services during phone calls and is provided on website; numbers of referrals to agencies are tracked in NACCRRAware to produce reports of activity CCRR has knowledge of providers’ physical space/facility through onsite visits to 10% of new and existing providers per year; visits are tracked for reporting purposes

Provider Development & Engagement CCRR services are marketed to providers in the field by posting information and conducting outreach using website, social media, newsletters, EEC start up packets, and at local AEYC conferences and community group meetings Education and consultation is provided to informal care providers (e.g. in home and relative care providers) to include topics on health and safety issues such as basic child development milestones, SIDS and Shaken Baby Syndrome, and information is provided in languages needed for those who speak English as a second language CCRR works to promote high quality early education and out of school time care by promoting quality care initiatives and disseminating information